The
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2005, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2005 Bank of Ireland All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the premier
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
competition in 2005. It consisted of 33 teams and began on Saturday 7 May 2005. Few surprises came during the championship with the dominance of the
Ulster teams evident once again. Gaelic football's "Big Three" of this era -
Armagh
Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...
,
Kerry,
Tyrone - all progressed to the semi-finals.
The Championship concluded on Sunday 25 September 2005 when Tyrone defeated Kerry, who were playing in their second consecutive All-Ireland Final, by a scoreline of 1-16 to 2-10. Tyrone had to play ten games (including three replays) in order to win the Championship - more than any other team before or since.
Format
Since the introduction of the so-called "back-door" system a few years ago, a number of changes have taken place in the championship format. In 2005 the following system was used.
The provincial championships in
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
,
Leinster,
Ulster and
Connacht ran as usual on a "knock-out" basis. These provincial games were then followed by the "Qualifier" system:
*Round 1 of the qualifiers included all the
counties that did not qualify for the Provincial Semi-finals. An open draw was made to give eight pairings.
*Round 2 consisted of the eight defeated teams in the Provincial Semi-finals playing against the eight winners from Round 1. A draw was made to determine the eight pairings.
*Round 3 Consisted of the 8 winners from Round 2 playing each other in an open draw format.
*Round 4 consisted of each of the four teams defeated in the Provincial Finals shall playing against the four winners from Round 3. A draw was made to determine the four pairings.
The All-Ireland Quarter-finals: Each of the four Provincial Champions played one of the four winners from Round 4. The All-Ireland Semi-finals shall be on a Provincial rots basis, initially determined by the Central Council. If a Provincial Championship winning team is defeated in its Quarter-final, the team that defeats it shall take its place in the semi-final.
Provincial championships
Munster Senior Football Championship
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Quarter-finals
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Semi-finals
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Final
Leinster Senior Football Championship
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Round 1
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Quarter-finals
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Semi-finals
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Final
Ulster Senior Football Championship
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Round 1
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Quarter-finals
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Semi-finals
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Final
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Connacht Senior Football Championship
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Quarter-finals
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Semi-finals
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Final
All-Ireland qualifiers
The losers of the Preliminary round matches and quarter final matches of each provincial championship started the qualifier.
Round 1
Round 2
The winners of round 1 were joined by the semi-final losers of each provincial championship. The matches would be between a round 2 winner and a provincial championship semi final loser.
Round 3
The winners of round 2 contest as the matches from here were lowered to four. Matches were open.
Round 4
The winners of round 3 were joined by the losers of each provincial championship final. The matches would be between a round 3 winner and the loser of a provincial championship final.
All-Ireland
The provincial champions and the winners of round 4 contested the quarter-finals. The quarter final matches would be between a provincial champion and a round 4 winner.
Quarter-finals
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Semi-finals
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Final
Championship statistics
Miscellaneous
* For the first time since 1992 Kildare vs Westmeath in the Leinster championship.
* Dublin played Laois in the Leinster final for the first time 1985.
* In the old system there would have been Kerry vs Galway and Dublin vs Armagh All Ireland semi-finals.
Top scorers
;Season
;Single game
References
{{Kerry Football Team 2005
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship